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The environment desk at Aspen Public Radio covers issues in the Roaring Fork Valley and throughout the state of Colorado including water use and quality, impact of recreation, population growth and oil and gas development. APR’s Environment Reporter is Elizabeth Stewart-Severy.

GarCo considers more drilling in Battlement Mesa

Elizabeth Stewart-Severy
/
Aspen Public Radio

Officials on the Garfield County planning and zoning commission are considering a proposal for another round of gas wells in a Battlement Mesa community.

The company Ursa Resources is asking for approval of 55 new gas wells and one wastewater injection well in a Battlement Mesa neighborhood. This would mean a total of 109 gas wells in a residential area.

Two citizen groups — Battlement Concerned Citizens and the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance — have objected to the proposal. They claim it violates state regulations and puts residents in harm’s way. One of the well pads is within 500 feet of a trailer park.

 

“This is one of the most dangerous locations for oil and gas development,” said Leslie Robinson, president of the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance.

 

Garfield County’s planning and zoning commission heard testimony last week and will reconsider the proposal on Sept. 26. Ursa has asked to make changes to the conditions of approval, which identify how the company plans to mitigate and minimize impacts to residents.

 

Aspen native Elizabeth Stewart-Severy is excited to be making a return to both the Red Brick, where she attended kindergarten, and the field of journalism. She has spent her entire life playing in the mountains and rivers around Aspen, and is thrilled to be reporting about all things environmental in this special place. She attended the University of Colorado with a Boettcher Scholarship, and graduated as the top student from the School of Journalism in 2006. Her lifelong love of hockey lead to a stint working for the Colorado Avalanche, and she still plays in local leagues and coaches the Aspen Junior Hockey U-19 girls.
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